prv
Well-Known Member
It's not so much that the law itself has changed, but that enforcement of it has become more vigorous and less inclined to take account of common sense.
Pete
4 fall in during the last month
- Thread starter colhel
- Start date
It's not so much that the law itself has changed, but that enforcement of it has become more vigorous and less inclined to take account of common sense.
Pete
BlueChip
Well-Known Member
SWMBO slipped off the pontoon into the water at an almost deserted Haslar Marina in the dark in December a few years back.
I was just getting off the boat having done final checks and quickly got hold of her but no way could I get her out of the water, there was a big danger of me ending up in the water with her.
She is a non swimmer and the water was so cold that she very quickly lost all strength, even if a ladder had been close I am not sure she would have been able to get herself out.
She had the boat keys and phone in her handbag which was in the water with her, so I couldn't get to any safety equipment which we keep below when we leave the boat or phone for help.
What I should have done is tie her on the pontoon and then got help but instinct was to stay with her and every minute that passed made the situation worse.
We were very fortunate in that a passing motorboat heard our shouts, they couldn't see us but radioed our berth number to the marina office and within 5 minutes help had arrived and she was saved.
Now, we have a life sling ready rigged with a strop long enough to reach anywhere around the boat, an eye for the spinnaker halliard and a winch handle readily available at all times.
We've both have practised exactly how we would get either back on board without help should this happen again.
If that motor boat hadn't heard our cries my wife may well have drowned.
I was just getting off the boat having done final checks and quickly got hold of her but no way could I get her out of the water, there was a big danger of me ending up in the water with her.
She is a non swimmer and the water was so cold that she very quickly lost all strength, even if a ladder had been close I am not sure she would have been able to get herself out.
She had the boat keys and phone in her handbag which was in the water with her, so I couldn't get to any safety equipment which we keep below when we leave the boat or phone for help.
What I should have done is tie her on the pontoon and then got help but instinct was to stay with her and every minute that passed made the situation worse.
We were very fortunate in that a passing motorboat heard our shouts, they couldn't see us but radioed our berth number to the marina office and within 5 minutes help had arrived and she was saved.
Now, we have a life sling ready rigged with a strop long enough to reach anywhere around the boat, an eye for the spinnaker halliard and a winch handle readily available at all times.
We've both have practised exactly how we would get either back on board without help should this happen again.
If that motor boat hadn't heard our cries my wife may well have drowned.
Seajet
...
Blue Chip,
that sounds like a nightmare, glad you both got away with it.
People talk about things like the 3 missing lighthouse keepers off Scotland, ' Great mystery, must have been abducted by a flying saucer '
but I think it's only too easy for the helper to become another casualty in the water...
that sounds like a nightmare, glad you both got away with it.
People talk about things like the 3 missing lighthouse keepers off Scotland, ' Great mystery, must have been abducted by a flying saucer '
but I think it's only too easy for the helper to become another casualty in the water...
Woodlouse
Well-Known Member
I don't think the laws have changed. As far as I know you're allowed to carry a folding knife with a non locking blade that's not longer than three inches and the police can't bother you about it. Anything else and you need a good excuse for why you have to carry it around in public. There's nothing to stop you buying any sort of knife (with the possible exception of flick knives) if you only carry and use it where appropriate.
single
Well-Known Member
Our YC have just spent ages jet washing all the pontoons and the difference is amazing and it looks much better.I wonder if there is a chemical that can be sprayed on to keep the algae away?
single
Well-Known Member
I carry a locking blade all the time except nights out and flying.Police have seen it several times and never said anything.I guess if your a hoodie in a nightclub it might be a different story.
KellysEye
Well-Known Member
We had a block and tackle rigged to the masthead and down to a winch in position permanently for MOB with a sling handy to attach to it. That would have solved the problem but I've never seen any other boat with that.
Seajet
...
Our sailing club has 2 concrete slipways which get very slippery due to weed & algae, I've seen a few chums go over resulting in fractured skulls etc and my Mum broke her wrist on the slip.
Thing is the conservationist lobby get really snotty if one even thinks about chemicals !
So the club has just invested in a powerful jet-wash ( has a 4 stroke motor but requires a hose feed for fresh water ), I don't remember the PSI but I was told it would go straight through a grp boats' gelcoat.
Works a treat on the slipways though.
Woodlouse
Well-Known Member
Fortunately the police are capable of using their discretion. You are allowed to carry other forms of knife if you can demonstrate a good reason for doing so but even so you probably don't want to meet a jobsworth PC who's in a bad mood.
It wasn't even 10 years ago things were different. I remember getting caught with a sheath knife at the door of a nightclub once, i'd forgotten to take it out of my pocket after sailing that day. Anyway, I was simply given a ticket and told to reclaim it when I left. I very much doubt i'd escape a night in the cells for it now.
skyflyer
Well-Known Member
First declare my interests
1) I am an ex-policeman (2) I am now about as anti-police as they get, mainly based on their twin dominant attitudes "the rules don't apply to me - only to you (e.g. I can swear at you but you can't swear at me without getting nicked) and "sorry, can't be arsed".
Be that as it may there is a world of a difference between being stopped, being spoken to, being arrested and being convicted.
I am sure that it is as true today as it was when I was part of it, that your attitude to the copper will largely be reflected in the way he (or she) treats you. If it is patently obvious that you are a nautical type on the way to/from or in the vicinity of your boat then it is VERY unlikely you will be nicked. I frequently end up in a pub, ashore, with a large knife in a pocket or to hand as that is how I come ashore on the tender.
Where you carry it, display it etc will all have a bearing. Lets face it if it is out of sight you'd need to be searched first for it to be found, and that is unlikely to happen unless you have aroused suspicion is some other way first.
In the case of nightclubs (as with airports)- its a private premises and the management have no right to remove your property; you effectively agree to surrender it (if you want to enter [go on holiday]) or you can choose to go home instead. The police would not need to be involved at that stage.
Despite my antipathy towards the Police these days, you have to remember that their major driving force is sheer bloody idleness (if possible do nothing) seconded by political correctness (if I have to do something, make sure it ticks the boxes re 'elf and safety, diversity, race, religion etc) and in third place excitement (if I have to do something and we have ticked all the boxes then lets see if we can't turn it into a chase/tasering/helicopter job). Nicking an upstanding yachtsmen for having a knife doesn't fulfil any of those criteria.
Like someone said above I would now (especially after pleb gate) record any dealings I had.
1) I am an ex-policeman (2) I am now about as anti-police as they get, mainly based on their twin dominant attitudes "the rules don't apply to me - only to you (e.g. I can swear at you but you can't swear at me without getting nicked) and "sorry, can't be arsed".Be that as it may there is a world of a difference between being stopped, being spoken to, being arrested and being convicted.
I am sure that it is as true today as it was when I was part of it, that your attitude to the copper will largely be reflected in the way he (or she) treats you. If it is patently obvious that you are a nautical type on the way to/from or in the vicinity of your boat then it is VERY unlikely you will be nicked. I frequently end up in a pub, ashore, with a large knife in a pocket or to hand as that is how I come ashore on the tender.
Where you carry it, display it etc will all have a bearing. Lets face it if it is out of sight you'd need to be searched first for it to be found, and that is unlikely to happen unless you have aroused suspicion is some other way first.
In the case of nightclubs (as with airports)- its a private premises and the management have no right to remove your property; you effectively agree to surrender it (if you want to enter [go on holiday]) or you can choose to go home instead. The police would not need to be involved at that stage.
Despite my antipathy towards the Police these days, you have to remember that their major driving force is sheer bloody idleness (if possible do nothing) seconded by political correctness (if I have to do something, make sure it ticks the boxes re 'elf and safety, diversity, race, religion etc) and in third place excitement (if I have to do something and we have ticked all the boxes then lets see if we can't turn it into a chase/tasering/helicopter job). Nicking an upstanding yachtsmen for having a knife doesn't fulfil any of those criteria.
Like someone said above I would now (especially after pleb gate) record any dealings I had.
Last edited:
prv
Well-Known Member
I don't have anything permanently on deck, but I do have a dedicated tackle in a locker (I need to improve the stowage location). This goes onto the end of the spinnaker halyard, which doesn't need to be adjusted (it's stowed on the pole ring on the front of the mast, and by the time it's brought over to the rail it's well above head height). So the upper block goes onto the end of the halyard, a small carbine-hook goes onto the shroud to stop it flying around, and the hauling end goes back to the sheet winch via a turning block (already threaded onto the line) that clips to the toe-rail. The bits that clip on each have a large label attached saying where they go, so that hopefully someone other than me can figure it out.
At the moment the falls of the tackle are prevented from tangling while stowed by being stopped-up with wool like an old-fashioned jib or topsail - but I plan to make a special bag with velcro bits that will come away when needed.
The working end of the tackle has a short strop (something for the casualty to grab onto, rather than grabbing the rope falls and locking up the tackle) and then a very big hook - as used by scaffolders for their harness tethers. This can either go onto the lifting becket of a lifejacket, if available, or there is a fabric strop like on a helicopter's winch, to go under the arms. Or, hopefully, we managed to get the Jon Buoy to them in which case we can simply hook onto that (though the height of the lifting becket on the flagpole might mean we have to take in a bit on the spinnaker halyard - not the end of the world as the winch is to hand).
Pete
Stork_III
Well-Known Member
The staff at Shotley Marina has recently finished the annual pressure washing of finger and main pontoons throughout the marina. Does make a difference, though still slippy in icy conditions. They even take the trouble to clean down the hulls afterwards, messy business.
prv
Well-Known Member
Annual?
Kemp's has a bloke who does litter-picking in the yard and jet-washing on the pontoons. I've never seen him doing anything else, so I think he just does one and then the other and then starts at the beginning again, Forth Bridge style. Certainly he's on the pontoons with his pressure-washer all the time, inching along blasting off the algae and duck-****. You see the washer locked to a cleat at various locations - I guess when it's home-time he stops wherever he is, locks up the pressure-washer, and comes back the next day to carry on.
It's a massive ancient cast-iron beast, petrol-driven obviously. The interesting part is that they run it on seawater - it just has a few feet of hose with a coarse strainer on the bottom that dangles over the edge of the pontoon. The other interesting thing is that it has a small fender and a coil of rope tucked into the frame - obviously so that if it trundles off the edge of the pontoon and plummets to the seabed, it can be retrieved. I wonder how many times that's been used
Pete
Woodlouse
Well-Known Member
Makes a lot of sense to use seawater. The salt will wash off when it next rains, but in the meantime it'll deter rot and other growth.Annual?
Kemp's has a bloke who does litter-picking in the yard and jet-washing on the pontoons. I've never seen him doing anything else, so I think he just does one and then the other and then starts at the beginning again, Forth Bridge style. Certainly he's on the pontoons with his pressure-washer all the time, inching along blasting off the algae and duck-****. You see the washer locked to a cleat at various locations - I guess when it's home-time he stops wherever he is, locks up the pressure-washer, and comes back the next day to carry on.
It's a massive ancient cast-iron beast, petrol-driven obviously. The interesting part is that they run it on seawater - it just has a few feet of hose with a coarse strainer on the bottom that dangles over the edge of the pontoon. The other interesting thing is that it has a small fender and a coil of rope tucked into the frame - obviously so that if it trundles off the edge of the pontoon and plummets to the seabed, it can be retrieved. I wonder how many times that's been used
Pete
Stork_III
Well-Known Member
Annual?
Kemp's has a bloke who does litter-picking in the yard and jet-washing on the pontoons. I've never seen him doing anything else, so I think he just does one and then the other and then starts at the beginning again, Forth Bridge style. Certainly he's on the pontoons with his pressure-washer all the time, inching along blasting off the algae and duck-****. You see the washer locked to a cleat at various locations - I guess when it's home-time he stops wherever he is, locks up the pressure-washer, and comes back the next day to carry on.
It's a massive ancient cast-iron beast, petrol-driven obviously. The interesting part is that they run it on seawater - it just has a few feet of hose with a coarse strainer on the bottom that dangles over the edge of the pontoon. The other interesting thing is that it has a small fender and a coil of rope tucked into the frame - obviously so that if it trundles off the edge of the pontoon and plummets to the seabed, it can be retrieved. I wonder how many times that's been used
Pete
Only needed annually, we don't suffer from quano at Shotley, occasional flyby that's all.